School Briefs - Deep Run High School

By Max Dash, Special to the Citizen 11/09/12

Max Dash

Come Nov. 16, when the Deep Run High School boys’ basketball team opens its 2012-2013 season against Thomas Dale High School, 270 days will have passed since head coach Curt Kassab and his Wildcats have taken the floor. And coming off a stingy loss to Highland Springs in the Wildcats' first playoff appearance under Kassab, this year’s squad will be hungrier than ever.

Deep Run will be looking to build off last year’s 16-9 season – the school’s first winning season since Kassab took over as head coach two seasons ago. Last season also marked the first District and Regional tournament appearances in the Kassab era. “Our goal every year is to compete for a district title and a birth in the Regional Tournament,” Kassab said.

Repeating last year’s success will be no easy task, however, as Deep Run heads into the 2012-2013 season losing 10 players to graduation; most notably first-team All-District guard Parker Hull and second-team All-District center Lucas Dyer. This leaves a mere four returning varsity players for Kassab and company, and only one, junior guard Tim Branin, with extensive varsity game experience.

These key departures mean new faces will have to step up and lead this year’s team, a challenge that senior guard Nick Butz welcomes. “I’m looking forward to being a leader of the team,” Butz said, “I expect our team to be tough and have a great year.”

While most are ready to write them off, Kassab sees this team with loads of untapped potential. “We have some talented young players and it’s important that we develop these young kids,” Kassab said. “I think that is critical in building a good basketball program.”

With three-fourths of last year’s team gone, Deep Run will have to rely heavily on its renowned student section, the “Wildcat Wackos.”

The Deep Run basketball program has tons of momentum after last year’s playoff run; however, with the large amount of turnover, repeating last year’s success will be an immense challenge for coach Kassab and the Wildcats.

The fire broke out in the third floor of the Chase Gayton apartment complex in the 10 block of Chase Gayton Drive, near the intersection of Gaskins Road and Quioccasin Road, at about 1:20 p.m. Sept. 24. > Read more.

Crime stoppers needs your help to solve a double homicide that occurred in the City of Richmond in June of this year.

On Wednesday, June 7, at approximately 9:53 p.m., Richmond police officers responded to several calls for random gunfire in the 3600 block of Decatur Street. They arrived and found the victims, two males, Christian Singleton and Ketron Wells. The victims were outside on the ground lying near each other. Both victims had received fatal gunshot wounds. > Read more.

The Richmond Astronomical Society and Libbie Mill Library will host a presentation about the night sky and its astronomy Sept. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Attendees will enjoy amazing views of the moon and other celestial objects with high-quality telescopes operated by members of the Richmond Astronomical Society. Guests will be able to see craters and seas on the surface of the moon with clarity and detail. > Read more.

The number of homes sold in Henrico County in August rose 10 percent when compared to the same month last year, according to data compiled by Long & Foster. The average sale price of those homes – $239,975 – also rose, by about 4 percent when compared to the same average sale price in August 2016.

Henrico's jump in the number of homes sold was the largest in the Richmond region, though average sales prices in Chesterfield (8 percent increase) and Richmond (12 percent) jumped by higher amounts when compared to last August sales. > Read more.

Graham M. Bundy, a thoracic surgeon with HCA Virginia Physicians’ Cardiothoracic Surgical Associates, is the first such surgeon in Central Virginia to perform 100 minimally-invasive Da Vinci robot-assisted lobectomies (a surgical procedure to remove a lobe of the lung). The procedure is used to treat multiple types of conditions but is most often used to treat lung cancer. > Read more.

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Libbie Mill Library will host Nerd Night from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nerd Night is a quarterly discussion group for everyone from super fans to the uninitiated enthusiast. The group will talk about anime and manga, science fiction, fantasy, comic books and cartoons with a different topic at each meeting. Today’s topic is “Interplanetary Inspiration: Making the world a better place through Science Fiction.” For ages 18+. For details, call 501-1940 or visit http://www.henricolibrary.org.
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